


The Gods Left Us Long Ago

by skim_milk



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aliens, Demigods, Family, Gods, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Greek gods, Iron Fam, Iron Family, Irondad, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Marvel Norse Lore, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Parental Figure!Tony Stark, Roman mythology, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Uncle Tony Stark, its messy, no beta we die like men, norse gods, roman gods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-01-29 02:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21402313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skim_milk/pseuds/skim_milk
Summary: Gods amirite? For Percy Jackson the Greek pantheon had tormented him since the age of 12, and now, at 18 he finally feels as though he may get a break. A new school and grades on the rise, go Percy! finally it feels like his life is somewhat on track.For Peter Parker the only God he knew existed was Thor, his mentor's co-worker. But when a door opens allowing Peter to meet new friends then yeah sure, he'll believe in the tooth fairy if you want!For Tony Stark, this newfound knowledge can mean finding the family he has always wished for.And hey, the Gods have to be good for something, right?
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Howard Stark/Maria Stark, Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Percy Jackson & Peter Parker, Percy Jackson & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 50
Kudos: 496





	1. What Use Does The Internet Even Have?

**Author's Note:**

> g'day and welcome to this shit fest!
> 
> this originally just started as me wanting to write a short backstory for how Percy would come to live in the tower because I wanted to write a scene with Annabeth meeting Peter... how i ended up writing this i have no clue...
> 
> yeah my writing skills may be bad but at least this is a better backstory than every other pjo/avengers fic thats like "annabeth died/betrayed percy and hes broken and he joins the avengers because fury kidnaps him". yeah, i see you...
> 
> anyways, enjoy :)

Percy Jackson sighed as he dropped his keys before bending to pick up the keys from the floor. After the defeat of Gaia, Percy’s (then) girlfriend -- Annabeth Chase -- had insisted that he keep going with his studies, and (because it was Annabeth and Percy would never disregard her) he had. It had only been 2 months since the battle against the primordial goddess when he had started at yet another high school. This time he was studying at an ‘elite science school’. Annabeth had asked a favour of her mother, Athena the goddess of wisdom, asking for Percy to be admitted to a school with an excellent marine biology program. And sure, Midtown Tech was a fair trek from where he lived with his mother, but Percy didn’t mind. He had only been attending for a week but already all his teachers were helping him with his work, and despite his struggle with dyslexia and ADHD, for the first time in ages he didn’t hate school. 

Eventually he opened the door, slipping in -- somewhat -- quietly, in case his younger sister, Estelle, was sleeping. He turned and closed the door behind him and was about to silently slip down the hall and into his room when in his peripheral vision he noticed three figures seated in the living room. He moved so that he was facing the living space. One person -- his mother he noticed -- was facing towards him, while the remaining two had their backs to him. 

Sally Jackson took a sip from her steaming mug, at the same time noticing her son standing by the doorway and she waved him over. She swallowed what Percy can only assume was boiling hot coffee -- how she could drink it like that he has no idea -- and spoke, “Percy! We weren’t expecting you home so soon!” 

Upon addressing them, the two strangers turned to look at him. On the left was a lady who looked only a few years older than his mother. She wore her brown hair loose and had a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. The figure to the right was a male that appeared to potentially be a few years younger than Glasses Lady, closer to Percy’s mother’s age. The man’s face was slightly weighed down by stress, grief and loss -- much like how Percy expected for himself to look in the future. The man had hair a shade slightly darker than the two women with a somewhat overly groomed goatee. He looked vaguely familiar, but Percy was not sure from where.

“Uhhh,” Percy started, as elegantly as ever. “Am I interrupting anything? I can leave if you want? I’m sure Annabeth wouldn’t mind if I-” 

His mother cut him off, “no no, we’ve been waiting for you. Well, and Peter. I just didn’t think you’d be home for another half hour or so.”

Percy nodded, casually wondering who this ‘Peter’ was, but decided not to ask -- knowing his mother it would be explained later anyway. “Yeah,” he said, placing his bag on the table beside the door. “My maths teacher’s wife went into labour so he let us leave early. And I had a free last so I thought I'd just come home early.” he hung his bag up on one of the hooks above the table.

Sally smiled. “oh that’s wonderful!” and Percy knew she wasn't referring to the news of the class being let out early. “I hope everything goes well for them. I’ll bake some cookies for you to take for them next week.” Percy smiled at his mother. She was good like that, always there for other people, always being an amazing person, always looking out for those around her. Percy was glad he could call her his mum. 

He nodded his head to assure her that he would, before his eyes moved from his mother and grazed over the two guests, before resting on Sally’s face once more, as though to silently ask her about them and their presence in the Jackson-Blofis household.

“Oh!” Sally gasped, remembering the two people. “Percy, this is May Parker,” she gestured to Glasses Lady, who waved at him and said a small ‘hi’. Percy moved over beside his mother and shook Glasses Lady’s -- May’s -- hand. Sally then turned and gestured to Goatee Guy. “and this, is Tony Stark.”

Tony Stark lifted his chin as a form of weird nod -- a movement Percy could see fellow demigod, Leo Valdez making. “What’s up, kid?” 

Percy gave a small laugh and internally fought with himself over whether to give a serious answer or not. Eventually he decided on “the roof,” which Goatee Guy seemed to approve of.

Tony Stark held out his hand to shake Percy’s and at the same time turned to Sally and said “I like this one.” May Parker scoffed and rolled her eyes. 

Percy sat on the sofa beside his mother. As he sat his mother lifted herself off of the two-seater and readjusted her seating position so that she has rotated her body 45 degrees and now had her body facing slightly towards Percy. 

“Tony’s rather well know,” Sally informed her son.

Percy gave a small nod. “Oh? What for?”

Percy turned and looked at their guests in time to notice Tony Stark’s jaw drop open a tiny bit. 

May Parker let out a laugh. “Well that’s a blow to his ego.”

Tony Stark furrowed his brows at the snide comment, “my ego isn’t that big…” he whispered almost to himself, and Percy was sure it was missed by all but him and his advanced demigod senses. The man shook his head as though to rid his brain of the thought and then spoke directly to Percy. “I’m kinda just a rich mechanic… I donate to some charities here and there… lots of scholarships for kids who deserve to go to college but can’t afford it… that kind of stuff. I’m really just a philanthropist with a terrible sleep schedule.”

Percy didn’t understand but just shook his head like he had been able to understand every word Tony Stark had just thrown at him.

“Money-bags made a big metal suit that he uses to fly around in and save people,” May Parker decided to fill him in. 

Percy still did not understand, in fact, he understood less.

Noticing Percy’s ignorance, Sally tried to finish painting the picture. “He’s Iron Man.”

Now, Percy Jackson may be dumb, but he wasn’t an idiot. “Oh yeah?” he said, very much pretending like he knew who ‘Iron Man’ was so as to not hurt anyone’s feelings. “That ahh... must be… cool…”

Tony Stark did not buy it. “You’ve got no clue who I am?”

Percy didn't miss a beat. “Nope. Not one.” 

May Parker leaned forward in her seat and looked at Percy in what may be classified as shock. “You don’t know the Avengers?”   
Percy’s eyes scanned quickly to his mother, then back to the older lady. “I mean, kinda… is Iron Man apart of the Avengers?” the three elders nodded at him. “Oh… I mean I really only know what my friends gossip about. I know that one of them is super smart -- my girlfriend quite admires his ability to get 7 PHDs -- and one is a mechanic -- I’m guessing Leo was talking about you, Mr Stark.” Percy paused to take a breath. “Oh and I guess that means you’re also the one who's kinda friends with Piper’s dad.”

Tony looked at him with a tiny ounce of concern. “Kid… do you just like… not use the internet at all?”

Percy thought about the question. “Well, I guess I actually don’t use it that much. I’ve never really had the need to use it before other than googling the odd thing here and there. Besides, I don’t really have enough time to use social media and what not with all that I’ve got going on -- school, homework, summer camp, going on… exchange trips.”

May Parker tilted her head slightly, “but it’s not just being away from the internet Percy. The Avengers fought to save our world several times, without them our very existence, well, to put it lightly,wouldn’t exist. The stuff they’ve done? Its world news. No matter where you where, exchange trip or not, you should have heard about it…” 

The comment struck something within Percy, he had also fought to save the world several times without it being world news, but that a whole other can of worms. 

“Look,” he began, trying to find a way to justify the fact that he was clueless without spilling the secret of the Gods. “I may have heard about them, but like, 10 or so months ago i lost my memory…” he looked down at his hands. “I only started remembering things about 2 months ago, so im still a bit hazy on some things…”

No one said anything. Technically it wasn’t a lie, the memory loss thing totally happened, and he didn’t remember anything about the Avengers from before the events that led to Hera, the Goddess of Assholes taking his memory. 

After nearly a minute of silence someone finally decided to speak. It was Sally. “Paul had the day off work, he took Estelle to see some of his family.”

Percy nodded, he wasn’t sure what his mother meant by her words. His step-father didn’t just take Estelle to see his family, if he had then Sally would have gone with Paul, that was the kind of person she was. Something was up.

He decide not to mention anything though.

“So, how’d you guys all become friends?” Percy questions after a while.

Tony Stark -- Iron Man (was Percy meant to call him by his ‘superhero’ alias? Percy had never spoken to a superhero before so he couldn’t be sure) chuckled. May Parker huffed as though she found something more ironic than funny. His mother took a deep breath.

“Well, that’s why we were waiting on you and Peter -- May’s nephew. We want to talk to you both together. It’s easier that way. We don't have to explain things twice.”


	2. Lets Go To The Vet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayoooo
> 
> chapter 2 already yeah bois
> 
> thank you so much for all the kudos left on the last chapter (nearly 30 overnight??? what???)
> 
> enjoy!

Peter Parker was in his afternoon biology class (and a very boring one at that) when his phone vibrated from within his pocket, he waited for the teacher to turn her back before sneaking it out and looking at the notification. It was a message from May containing an address and the words “see you there”. 

Looking at the time let him know that there was only 14 minutes left until the period was over. After that he had only one class left, and it being free study (and his curiosity biting away at him wondering what could be at that address) he decided he could leave school an hour early.

Peter waited for what felt like an eternity, until the bell finally rang, allowing him to rush to his locker to grab his gear before hurrying to the office to sign himself out early. 

Peter hated going to the office. There had been so many times where he had had to sign in late that at this point the office lady must have thought very poorly of him. 

“Do you have a note?” she asked, her leather like fingers still tapping away at the keyboard, her eyes not looking away from her computer’s monitor.

Peter froze,  _ did  _ he have a note? He shook his head, trying to regain his own thoughts. ‘Uhh… no?” his voice was very uncertain nearly cracked.

She stopped typing and pushed her chair out from the desk a bit to see around the computer screen enough to stare deep into Peter’s soul. “Then where are you going?”

Panic.  _ Think Peter.  _ He told himself.  _ Think. _

What were reasons normal people left school early? Sick? But Peter did not look sick, and if he said he felt sick they would probably sent him to the school nurse, who would clear him of any affliction and send him back to class. (The nurse would do that whether someone was faking an illness or had a broken arm. Peter doubted she had actually even taken a first aid course let alone having gone to medical school.)

_ Keep thinking Peter, _ he yelled at himself. 

Appointment? But for what? Hairdressers? But he only had his hair cut a week ago, and it had not grown that much within one week. Doctors? That could work. Dentist maybe?

“Uhh… I’ve got an appointment with the vet!” 

_ The vet? Really Peter? What are you? A dog? _

The office lady’s eyes pierced deeper into his soul but she gestured to the sign out book.

“Bring a note next time,” she said lazily and positioned herself back at the computer and began typing again. 

Peter quickly scrawled all the necessary requirements into the book before running out of the school building and down the nearest dark alleyway.

He quickly changed from his casual clothes into the suit of his superhero alias, Spider-Man. It was quicker to get places as Spider-Man, the web slinging hero of Queens rather than as Peter Parker. He pulled his phone from his backpack to check the address and noticed that he had received a message from his best friend, Ned Leeds, asking where he was and why wasn’t he in class?

Peter quickly typed out a response to Ned and before he was able to put his phone back in the backpack Ned had already responded.

_ Wtf dude? You dont own a dog??? _

Peter laughed and put his phone in his bag before making sure it was zipped closed properly -- once he forgot to check and he ended up having strewn his english essay all over Queens.

He swung the backpack over his shoulder and asked Karen -- the Artificial Intelligence personification that lived within his Spider-Man suit -- to show him the directions to the address, and then swung off. 

It did not take long for Peter to reach the address in Upper East Manhattan, with only one stop along the way to catch a handbag thief. When he got there he swung into an alleyway near the building to change back. He shoved the suit into his bag and walked the remainder of the way to the apartment building. 

May’s message instructed him to just walk up, not to ring the buzzer in the foyer, so that was what he did. 

The door was unlocked and slightly ajar when he got there but he knocked nonetheless. He could hear the chattering voices inside die down, and he sensed someone get up and make their way to the door. It was opened by a woman Peter had never met before, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones. She smiled brightly and extended her hand.

“You must be Peter,” her smile was warm and inviting. “I’m Sally Jackson-Blofis.”

Peter smiled back at her and shook the hand she had extended. “Hello Mrs Jackson-Blofis.”

She laughed at him. “Please Peter, call me Sally… unless you want me to call you ‘Mr Parker’,” she joked. 

A voice inside the apartment gave a deep laugh. “Nice try Sally, but he never stops with the formalities. Do you kid?” 

Peter immediately recognised the voice, “Mr Stark?” he asked, seemingly confused by his mentor’s presence. Was this meeting about his ‘Stark internship'?

The man laughed again, “see! He’s been doing that for the past… oh how many years? 2? 3?” Tony Stark pointed out. 

Sally smiled at him politely and ushered him into the apartment nonetheless. “Well, im sure that is different. You are -- somewhat -- his boss Tony.”

So it was about the internship? Or at least Sally knew about it, but to what extent was her knowledge? Did she know what he got up to in his spare time? Oh god, what was all this for?

The apartment was rather small -- like the one Peter lived in with May -- however it was quite comfortable, everything was neat yet it was not perfectly neat -- it was lived in, used. It had a simplistic modern vibe and it was rather cosy. Peter noticed May and Tony sitting at opposite ends of a dark gray sofa, the sofa had its back to the rest of the room, yet May and Tony had turned and were looking in his direction. There was a similar, smaller sofa opposite the two adults, it was a love seat almost. On it sat a boy, around his age, maybe slightly older. He vaguely recognised the boy but could not pin-point as to where he knew him. He saw many different people as Spider-Man and came to a mental decision that that must have been how he knew the older boy’s face. Sally Jackson motioned for him to join the others in the living room space and he nodded politely, leaving his backpack at the door. As he made his way to the lounge Sally quickly questioned if anyone was hungry or thirsty.

“Can I please have a glass of water?” Peter questioned.

Sally nodded, “water?” she asked in conformation. “I also have cordial or juice -- I think its apple.”

Peter shook his head. “No thank you, just water please.” 

Sally smiled, “I’ll be one second.” and left. 

Peter sat down soon after, placing himself between May and Tony, facing the black haired boy. He looked like a fish out of water, almost as socially awkward as Peter felt.

“So…” the boy began. “The weather has been… weather…”

Beside Peter, Tony Stark laughed once again. “Yeah that’s generally what it does.”

They sat in silence for only a few additional moments before May spoke from on Peter’s left. “Oh Peter, you may know Percy! He started at Midtown earlier this week.” 

Peter looked at the boy, and now that May had pointed it out, Peter decided that school was where he knew the boy -- Percy -- from.

“Oh… Percy Jackson?” the boy opposite him nodded. “Yeah I think I’ve heard of you a couple times… do you share any classes with Flash Thompson?” Peter was sure he had heard Flash complaining about a new kid.

“Yeah.” Percy responds almost sullenly, “just roll call. But he was the one that showed me around and whatever on my first day. You know, how they assign you to some kid that you’re meant to cling to and be friends with until you realise that they’re an idiot and you choose to sit alone at break times rather than with idiots even if it means you look like a loser.” Percy paused, “what, you don’t like… like him… do you? Like you’re not friends with him?”

Peter laughed. “What? Flash Thompson? Friends with Peter Parker? The local nerd? Please Percy, don’t think of Flash so lowly!” the sarcasm was so evident that even May smirked.

Percy was relieved. “Thank the gods, I was so worried then that you’d take that back to him.” 

Peter was about respond with another semi-mean comment aimed towards their very good mutual friend Flash Thompson when Sally Jackson re-entered the room juggling a pitcher of water and several glasses as well as a plate of what looked like cookies -- but were blue.

Percy rushed over to help the woman who Peter assumed to be his mother. 

They settled everything on the coffee table between the two couches and Sally poured out a glass of water for peter, which he gratefully accepts. 

Tony asks the question Peter was not brave enough to. “So, why the blue cookies?”

Sally laughed and glanced at Percy before turning back to face Tony. “my ex-husband, we once had an argument about how there was no such thing as ‘blue food’ and ever since I have gone out of my way to spite the asshole.” It was relatively jarring to witness Sally Jackson -- a seemingly peaceful and loving middle aged woman -- using such language. 

Percy laughed gently. “Gabe’s been gone for years now but we still like to keep the tradition alive.”

Nodding gently, Peter turned to his aunt. “Can,” he took a deep breath. “Can I ask what we’re doing here?”

May nodded at him. “Yeah. We’re here because we found some things out and we thought you and Percy would like to know.”

Percy and Peter made eye contact for a split second before Percy turned and looked at his mother. “What… what did you find out?”

Sally looked at tony, then to may. “Percy… I don't know how to say this… for now, let's say I found out about my parentage.”

Percy’s face paled. He went to open his mouth to speak but before he could Tony corrected Sally, “we found out about our parentage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof so we still dont know why theyre all at the apartment... 
> 
> and who knows
> 
> maybe itll be revealed chapter 3...
> 
> maybe not...
> 
> i already have chapter 3 written and im currently working on 4 at the moment (id like to get it written before i publish chapter 3). unfortunately i have exams coming up so i may take a while to write so yeah... hope you like irregular updates!
> 
> thank you for reading. please feel free to leave kudos and comments as you wish. they encourage me to write and publish more so yeah (im needy okay?)


	3. Gods Always Show Up When You Least Expect Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a flashback of sorts. 
> 
> enjoy.

Howard Stark had longed for a child for as long as he could remember, so when his girlfriend, Maria had come to him with the news of her pregnancy, Howard was ecstatic. Maria’s parents, however, were not. A child out of wedlock was frowned upon, but Howard only cared about the child to be born and Maria. Which is why when Maria came to him crying, he agreed to it. They would be married before the child was born, before Maria started visibly showing the telltale signs of pregnancy. They would claim that she fell pregnant on their honeymoon, and if need be they could say that the baby was born premature. 

So that was what they did, and at that time Maria’s parents were still not happy, but at least they could try and cover their tracks.

So Howard married Maria and they spent their honeymoon by the toilet side, Howard holding back Maria’s hair, and Maria vomiting her stomach up with much thanks to morning sickness. Howard could not care that honeymoons were meant to be ‘romantic’ and what not, all he cared about was his new wife and his unborn child -- his family. 

Howard spent the oncoming months doing anything and everything Maria had asked. Sandwich? Consider it made. Dishes? Done. Laundry? It was already washed, dried and folded.

Howard Stark tried his best to make sure that this little one would grow up in a happy and healthy household, for Howard himself had not. Growing up Howard’s father was killed in War and his step-father abused both Howard and his mother up until his mother’s death. After her death Howard worked hard to get himself out of that household, to get himself to college, to get a good job and eventually, start up his own business -- and a rather successful one at that. All this Howard had done for his future family, and here he was, with a wonderful wife and a baby on the way.

On the day that it happened Howard had been called into work last minute, a last minute check before a large sale. Maria had assured him that it was fine, he would only be gone five minutes, what could happen in five minutes? She was not due for another month, surely it would be fine to go to the office for 20 minutes? So guiltily Howard had gone. He had been at the office five minutes the check not even started when he got the call. He left the office immediately to go to the hospital, but of course, he had to get stuck in traffic, which added an extra half hour to his trip. 

When he finally got to the hospital he was showed to waiting room in which his father-in-law was waiting. 

Maria was in the room down the hall, but the nurses would not let him in. 

“Women only,” Maria’s father told him. 

Howard was not happy about it, but he sat down anyway, awaiting any further news on his wife and baby.

For hours people came and went from the maternity ward’s waiting room. A nurse came and told them that Maria’s labour was causing a few complications but all should be fine and not to worry. 

This did not mean that Howard stopped worrying. 

He watched the clock in the waiting room tick away.

One, two, three, four, five hours went by. And nothing. 

The clock had just ticked by five hours and 20 minutes when a blond haired nurse walked in. she spoke directly to Maria’s father, not Howard.

“Your daughter is okay,” she spoke with a rather flat tone. “She is sleeping currently.”

“And the baby?” Howard butted in. “How’s my baby?”

Only now did the nurse glance in his direction, but only for a fleeting moment before looking back at his father-in-law. “There were some complications, the baby had to be taken away for immediate care.”

Howard’s heart sank, his baby, Maria, his family. 

Quietly he asked the nurse if he could see Maria and she hesitantly agreed. 

That was how Howard found himself sitting at his wife’s bedside. Waiting once again.

Waiting for Maria to wake up. Waiting for news on his baby. A baby he did not even have a name for. 

In the time that Howard was waiting, not one nurse came in, not one doctor. No one to check on Maria. No one to tell him about his baby. It was quiet. Sterile. White. Blank. 

When Maria did eventually wake, it was in a panic. The monitor she was connected to showed her heart rate rise at an alarming rate. 

Her arm flew out and latched onto Howard’s own. “Where is she?” she gasped. “My baby, where is she?” 

Howard looked at his wife for several moments before he moved his gaze to the floor. “They… they had to take her away.”

Tears immediately formed in her eyes. Howard was suddenly aware of his dry eyes, he had tried to hide the pain he felt, for Maria’s sake. But now she was awake he could allow himself to slip away and for tears to fall. All that was left was to hope for the best. 

It took another 7 hours for the news to reach them. Not once in that time did Maria’s parents come to see their daughter. But they did come in when the doctor came to deliver the news

“We are very sorry…” Howard tried to block it out. “We tried as hard as we could…” a static noise was playing in his ears, like white noise trying to block out the words of the doctor. “We are very sorry, but there was nothing we could really do…” 

Maria pressed into his side, tears soaking his white button-up shirt. Howard could not say anything. He could not move. He just sat there. He could see the doctor say something, but could not hear it. He felt numb, only barely existing. 

The doctor said something to Maria’s parents, and then left. And then they left. Leaving only Howard and Maria once again in the cold hospital room. 

After what felt like hours, a nurse came into the room. Maria had cried herself to sleep and was still clinging to Howard, so the lady was cautious not to wake her. 

“Mr Stark,” she said softly, his ears barely picking up the noise. “We were wondering if you had a name. For your baby girl.”

A lump formed in his throat, stopping him from speaking. 

“I can give you some time sir, to think it over.”

He shook his head. “May,” he eventually managed to say. “If our baby was a girl, her name was going to be May... after my mother.”

The nurse smiled. “It’s a beautiful name Mr. Stark,” and then she left. 

It was two days before Maria was allowed to go home. But home was no longer warm like Howard and Maria remembered it. It didn’t take long for the Starks to sell the house and move into another.

They tried, on and off, for the next three years for another child. Each attempt futile. The furthest they got was 8 weeks before it miscarried. 

The Starks moved once more.

One of the toughest challenges Howard Stark had had to face in his life -- right behind burying his own daughter -- was sitting in that doctors office, the doctor’s face sympathetic, as Howard and Maria heard words that nearly killed them.

The doctor explained to them that due to the fact that Maria’s uterus had been so badly damaged giving birth to May, and that the damage had not been fixed, Maria’s womb was so badly scarred that carrying a child to term would be almost impossible. Secondary infertility he called it.

The doctor advised the couple to get a second opinion, but he was certain that any other doctor would find the same issue.

So they did get a second opinion. And a third. And even a fourth. And when they all returned with similar answers that was when they finally started to lose hope.

The Starks moved house again.

It was nearing the fourth anniversary of May’s short life when it happened. It began with a knock on the door. A stranger telling Howard he had the answer to all of his problems. At first Howard had thought the man was talking about a piece of machinery Howard had invented, the man looked as though he worked with his hands, they were severely calloused. But then the man kept talking and he spoke about how he had seen many miracles, that he could make the impossible possible.

Howard -- not a believer in voodoo and the like -- was about to kick the man off of his property when Maria came out onto the porch where her husband and the stranger were standing. She offered the man lemonade and scones, as though she had seen this man before. The man gently declined, but gave them both a phone number, telling them to ring him when they had decided. 

When the strange man had left Maria told her husband how she had seen the stranger in several dreams. He had been fighting in a battlefield, dressed in golden armor. She had seen him in a forge, inventing and fixing machines she had never seen before. She had seen him talking to a man, a man who looked like a younger version of Howard. And she had seen him once again, the last different to the other visions of him. The final vision had been of the man alone. He saw sitting on what Maria can only describe as a throne and he had looked directly at Maria as though they were both in the same room. And when he spoke, she felt as though it was directed at her as well. The man in the dream spoke of hope, of love, of miracles, of a child’s touch. He told Maria that she could have a child, that he could help her and her husband conceive.

When Maria had told him this, Howard was skeptical -- how could one not be? But his curiosity eventually got the better of him and he and his wife agreed to meet with the man. 

The man’s name was Vulcan, and he explained that he had ‘powers’ unimaginable. He told of his story, of his mother, and how he could help them. 

Howard was doubtful of the man’s ability, but nonetheless Howard had asked why he would want to help them with their family. 

The man -- Vulcan -- sighed and waited a moment before telling the couple. “I see heroes among your lineage. Not just one, nor two, but many. Your bloodline is meant to continue and prosper, and if not, it may mean the certain end of this world as we know it.” 

Howard and Maria had nothing to say to that. He explained that he could use his powers to give Maria a blessing of sorts, then she would be able to conceive as a normal person would. However the blessing had the potential to affect the child’s DNA, it had the potential to make the child’s DNA seem as though the child had had three parents rather than just two. 

The Starks were hesitant at first, but in the end they agreed -- what more could they lose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have i been writing all day instead of studying for my upcoming exam? mmm yeah. should i be worried about it? mmm yeah? am i gonna keep writing fanfiction though? mmm yeah.
> 
> yeah so i finished writing chapter 4 and am like,,, halfway through 5 so yeah. but i still have to edit 4 a little so yeah fun.
> 
> thanks for reading. as always, feel free to leave comments and kudos. thanks!


	4. I'm 87% Sure That Star Trek is Fictional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um? over 500 views??? omg thank you guys so much!

Percy Jackson looked at the two adults opposite him, he was starting to see how this would come together, how the three adults in the room knew each other. 

One of them was a Stark -- the same name carried by the couple in the story his mother ad just explained -- the other carried the same name as the deceased baby, and of course a god had to involved, gods being involved always made things awry. And his mother mentioned something about her parentage, so yeah, something was definitely up...

The teenage boy opposite Percy looked confused, and he was right to be so. 

“Mr Stark,” he said softly. “You had a sister?”

Tony Stark shook his head. “No. I have a sister. May didn't die. My grandparents, our grandparents, were still worried about the rumors that may have arisen, so they took the child away, placed in the arms of a woman who had had a still born baby, they took her baby’s body. That is who my parents buried. Not their daughter, but some stranger’s, a stranger who held their daughter in her arms while my parents wept beside a small grave.”

For all the things Percy had heard of and seen in his life, this was one of the most evil.

“But your sister,” Peter began. “What happened to her? What happened to May?”

Tony grinned and looked over Peter to May Parker, almost confirming Percy’s suspicions.

“She turned out alright. We met by a total coincidence, I didn't realise it was her. We met when I offered her nephew an internship…” he left the words hanging in the air and after a few seconds Peter understood. 

“May?!” the brunette exclaimed, whipping around to look at his aunt. “Aunt May, you’re a Stark?” 

May laughed. “Well yeah, I guess.”

Peter looked like he was in shock, and before he could open his mouth to speak, Percy beat him to it.

“What about Vulcan? What pain did he cause?”

Tony tilted his head slightly to the side. “What makes you think he caused pain?”

Percy looked the man in the eyes. “Because he’s a God, and never once in my life have any of those that I’ve met caused anything other than pain.” He waited a second. “And I’ve met a lot.”

Tony nodded his head as a sign of somewhat agreeance. Peter looked even more confused and Percy briefly wondered ifc the boy just lived in an eternal state of confusion, it seemed likely.

“Have you met Thor? Because he’s really nice and im sure he’s super unproblematic.” The younger boy tried to defend the hero but Percy just laughed.

“I haven’t met Thor personally, but my fiancée’s cousin did once and from what I heard it was kinda problematic…”

Sally shook her head. “Nope. Different Thor. But that a whole other can of worms. Let's open it another day.”

It was Percy’s turn to be confused now. 

Sally sighed before brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. “Vulcan’s offer was taken and, true to his word, Maria was able to conceive.” She paused to take a sip from her drink and Peter took advantage of this time to cut in.

“Wait…” he spoke slowly. “Who’s this Vulcan? He can’t be who I'm thinking because I'm 87 per-cent sure that Star Trek is fictional…”

Percy had to laugh at that. 

“Ah well, hes ahhh…” May looked over at Percy. “Well Percy, you probably have the best knowledge in this area… why don’t you explain?”

Percy nearly scoffed. Because yeah, fighting a heap of mythological creatures, gods, titans, giants, and primordials equaled knowledge. He told the boy anyway. “He’s the Roman God of Fires and Forges.” he looked down in the vague direction of the coffee table. “And he was also born via Juno’s… asexual reproduction.”

“Oh…” Peter said, looking somewhat less confused.

Percy was still deep in thought. “Which still doesn’t really make sense…” his eyebrows were knitted in confusion. “Wouldn’t one of the Gods or Goddesses of fertility or some shit be the one to bless the Starks instead?”

“You’d think so,” Tony answered. “But Howard was a mechanic, loved engineering. As did… does Vulcan. He was drawn by my father’s abilities.” Percy nodded as did Peter.

“So what comes next?” Peter says. “Mrs Stark falls pregnant with a child? That'd be you Mr Stark, yeah?”

Tony nods his head side-to-side as though to say _ “almost” _ . 

“Yeah but she didn’t fall pregnant with a son.”

Peter just looks at his mentor. “Then where do you come into this? Are you even a Stark?”

Tony cuts him off. “Yes, of course,” he shakes his head. “That's not what I’m saying Peter. You didn’t let me finish.” the boy being addressed flushed red. “She didn’t fall pregnant with  _ just  _ a son. She conceived twins.”

Percy nodded, now understanding how the story connected to his mother. 

“Oh,” Peter begins. “Well, that makes more sense…” May almost laughs at her nephew, and the still confused expression etched into his face. “But what happened to the other child?” He presses on.

Tony’s eyes flicker to Sally sitting on the other couch, the coffee table separating them. “Well, I found her too…” Tony pauses and Peter catches himself following Tony’s gaze. “Eventually…” 

For Peter, the story had almost come together. He went to speak but the other teenage boy in the room beats him to it.

“But you were separated? Why?” Percy asks the question that had been on Peter’s mind.  _ Why had they been separated? Was it Maria Stark’s parents again? Was it that they felt they couldn’t handle two children? Why had they separated their children? _

Both Sally and Tony went to speak, however neither could find the words that would tell their story the best. Their older sister found the words for them. 

“Vulcan was true to his word,” May said. “The… blessing did have to ability to alter the child… children’s DNA. But it wasn’t certain,” she took a sip of black tea, it had been sitting there the entire time Peter had been there, so he could only assume it was cold by this time. “It was only after the children had been born did they noticed that only one child’s DNA was made up of not only Maria and Howard’s, but also of Vulcan’s. Tony’s.”

Percy didn’t really know what to say. He had spent a lot of time in his life knowing how gods and godly families can be chaotic and extremely difficult to get along with. But this? This took not only the cake, but the whole gods-damned bakery. He had never thought he had any family on his mother’s side, but here he was, sitting opposite his mum’s apparent long-lost family. And yeah, it was a little hard to swallow. Especially when one is a demigod… but also not… a third-god? Percy was not sure.

“Vulcan made up some crap about needing for me to be protected,” Sally takes over from May. “That there were two possible outcomes. The first was if I was to stay -- death, destruction, chaos, some more death, you get the picture.” Percy did. He really did. “The second was if they were to separate Tony and I -- still some destruction, still some chaos, but overall the world would not end.” She paused to allow the two teens to register her words before continuing. “Personally, I don't know if it was a heap of bullshit or not. But I think that if things had have been different then I would never have met Poseidon, never had Percy,” she takes his hand. “And the world would be a lot worse off without this kid in it. And I think that Tony would not have become the man he is.” 

Tony's features harden a little, barely noticeable but still there. Sally pushes on. “Separation meant that my parents could no longer see me. And I think the loss of a second daughter is what drove Howard Stark… my father… over the edge.” 

“Howard Stark as I knew him,” Tony began. “Was a hard man, all rough edges and anything I did it was never enough.” 

It was quiet for a moment before Peter spoke. “So, how did you find out that you were all related?” 

Tony laughs. “Science,” he says shortly before moving to elaborate. “I was helping Banner with some research, his current project is looking into the DNA build-up of genetically enhanced persons in order to be able to understand them better. Like Steve, so that he can make more advanced pain killers for him and whatever.” Percy did not know the people who Tony spoke about but nodded along as though he understood. “Bruce wanted to compare the DNA of an average human to that of Steve, Bucky, himself, and, if he agreed to it, Peter.” 

Peter’s reaction was subtle, but something in it confused Percy. Part of him wanted to know what Tony meant, if this Bruce dude wanted genetically manipulated DNA, then why did he want a sample of Peter’s?  _ Was Peter genetically enhanced? _ Percy supposed that was a question for another day.

“Me, thinking I was an average human,” Tony continued. “Said yes and gave him a sample.” he sighed. “When Bruce put the sample into the reader the whole ass machine started smoking. We thought there was a malfunction -- and I suppose it was -- but after Bruce and I ran around to get fire extinguishers and whatever, it stopped. Then came the reading…” Tony paused and looked at Percy. “Its weird, ya know,” he says. “Finding that you’re not who you think you are. At first I just assumed that the machine had spasmed, I mean all that smoke it had spewed out it wouldn't be surprising if it gave us false results. But I’ll never forget the feeling of confusion I had as I looked at the results to see that  _ exactly _ one-third of my DNA was just… missing, not there, just… gone. Like it had never existed in the first place.” 

Percy did have some idea of how difficult it was. Yes, he had been younger, but that did not make it any less jarring to find out that half of the blood that runs in your veins is that of a god. 

Peter spoke, letting Percy remain silent. “But how did you find out that you were related to May? To Sally?”

Tony took a sip of his drink before continuing. “We were going to put another sample through. That was when Vulcan showed up.” He smiled to himself. “He like… paused Bruce to tell me. Told me about my sisters, told me why my results were… inconclusive. And yeah, it was weird at first, but now I’m kind of glad. Now I get this awesome family.” Peter nodded. 

“Look,” May said, eyes glancing from Peter to Percy, then back again. “I get this is a lot to take in. but we wanted to tell you as soon as we could.”

Peter nodded again, reminding Percy of the bobble head doll that Leo carried around at all times, just so that when he was losing an argument he could pull it out and use it as an ally  _ “the bobble head says yes, so we gotta do it.” “Leo! We  _ cannot  _ put hair dye in Mr D’s shampoo you dumbass!” _

The three adults in the room eyed each other warily still though, despite the fact that their news had been shared. Peter noticed somewhat, but was mostly too caught up in the newfound knowledge to think any more of it. It was Percy who did though. “That’s not it? Is it?” The adults looked at him and he noticed his mother start picking at her nails, a nervous habit that he had inherited from her. 

“No,” she says softly. “No there's more.”

Peter looked at Percy and help his gaze. “Then tell us. It's better out in the open anyway,” Peter tells them.

May sighs. “We want to get to know each other better… and Tony wants to get to know his nephews better… and we want you two to get along... so we thought it might be best for you two to…” she looks at Tony, who nods in response. “We thought it might be a good idea for you both to move in with Tony.” The teens look at Tony. “To move into the Avengers’ Tower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so this is trash and i dunno how to write third person p.o.v!
> 
> yeah... 
> 
> also i just finished my studio art exam and like,,, i dont think i did that badly,,, i dunno,,, im not as stressed about it,,,
> 
> also im going away this weekend and wont be able to update for a few days and i have exam week next week so yeah,,, updates might get messy,,,
> 
> thank you for reading. as always, feel free to leave comments and kudos, it always makes me feel good to know people are enjoying my writing. thanks! ^-^


	5. He's Breaking The Bro Code

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg wtf??? i came back from a weekend away and i had 69 kudos??? lmao heck yeah!!! also,,, 750 views??? you guys are amazing!!!!

“To do what now?” Percy asks, voice low and serious. “Move where exactly?”

“The Avengers’ Tower, it's closer to your school,” his mother provides. 

He moves his eyes from Tony -- his uncle -- to his mother. “And you think this is a good idea?” 

Sally shrugs. “It's not the worst,” she offers. “Honestly, it’d be a good opportunity to get to know Tony and Peter. I think you’d love it.” 

He thinks it over for a second. “But… but what about Annabeth? She’s meant to be moving in here next week?” 

“We’ve talked about it…” the words did not come from his mother but from Tony. “And if she would like to, she can move in as well -- the more the merrier I guess.”

Percy nodded. “Well… I guess then… but well need to put wards up… to keep the nasties out.” 

Tony nodded and did not speak further. 

It was Peter’s turn to voice his concerns. “But, what about May?”

May laughed at him. “Well, um…” she began. “I’m moving…” 

Peters brows furrowed in confusion. “Moving? Into the tower as well?”

She shook her head. “No… Harold and I have decided to-”

“NOPE!” Peter cut her off. “Nope. I do not need to know. Gross. Very gross.” May shook her head but smiled nonetheless. 

“I’m with you kid.” Tony said. “My best friend dating my sister? Pretty sure that goes against the bro code.”

The others in the room laughed and Percy thought,  _ “hey, maybe this won't be so bad after all.” _

And maybe it would not be too bad. 

Percy could not have been more wrong. Moving meant needing to pack everything, which was hell. It was better with Annabeth by his side, who kept telling him to not get caught up over items he found from when he was younger. Telling Annabeth had gone exactly as he thought it would. At first she had been skeptical --  _ “what if something goes wrong? What if a monster attacks us?”  _ \-- but as soon as she got over her concern she was more excited than even Percy. Which was not hard. Percy was not very excited. 

Moving meant leaving his mother, his step-father, and his little sister. But he had to keep telling himself that it was for the best. The apartment they shared was small at best, it was squishy for the four of them, and with Annabeth about to move it it was about to get a whole lot smaller. Moving meant that there would be more room in the apartment, his mother could set up his room as an office, her own space to write in rather than at the dining table, in the kitchen, or sitting on the roof -- although Percy doubted that giving her an actual office would stop this, she claimed that being in different places gave her inspiration. Moving meant that Percy would be able to get to know his new uncle and new cousin -- even if Peter wasn't technically related to him by blood, his mother had told him that May and Tony were pretty much the boy’s parents (which made it somewhat weird now that they were also brother and sister). Moving meant that Estelle and Sally and Paul would be safe. Or safer at least. Without Percy there, there would not be the constant threat of danger. Moving was for the best.

But it did not mean that Percy loved the idea. Sure, he did not hate it. But love was a strong word. And it was not how he felt about the idea of moving into a tower with a bunch of strangers. All of whom had apparently saved the world. Annabeth had tried to give him the rundown on them, but that did not necessarily meant that Percy paid any attention to it. 

Both Percy and Annabeth came to the conclusion that she would postpone starting at Midtown Tech for another week, allowing him to have a week in the tower and get used to life there before she moved in. allowing him to get to know everyone first. 

So the Saturday following his first meeting with Tony and Peter, Percy found himself standing on the doorstep of his new home. Peter had been in car that dropped Percy off at the tower as well and when they got out Peter led the way through the lobby, to an elevator that he informed Percy was for private use only. When the doors to the metal contraption closed, so did Percy’s eyes -- his mind blocking out whatever it was Peter was saying and instead opting to try and slow his breathing and calm himself down. He was slowly succeeding when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Half of him felt like whipping around making the hand disappear, the other half knew that -- logically -- it was only Peter, and therefore not a threat. 

Percy opened his eyes. It was his first time at the tower, he did not need to freak them out just yet.

“You okay dude?” Peter asks softly. 

Percy does not speak at first, just nods, but after a while he feels as though he owes the boy an explanation. “Yeah, sorry. I've just… have some bad memories associated with elevators is all.” Peter does not say anything, only nods. When the doors of the elevator eventually open Percy quickly steps out, leaving most of his belongings. Peter exits behind Percy but the doors do not close. 

“Hey dude, its okay.” Percy turns to him. “I get it. Trauma sucks.” Percy does not know what to say, he only nods. “If you don't like elevators there’s always stairs, but you’d have to walk up like,,, over 90 floors.”

Percy laughed. “No it’ll be okay.” he took a breath. “It's just like,,, that was my first time in one since…” he looked at the boy. “Since um…” 

“Its okay,” Peter assured him. “You don’t need to talk about it… or if you do need to talk I’m here… or anyone in this tower… we’ve all dealt with some bad stuff, and I don’t know your story but I’m sure everyone would understand if you needed someone to talk to about it.” 

Percy smiled at him, genuinely. He was starting to feel better. The kid was good to talk to. “Thanks Peter. I’ll… I'll keep it in mind.” He looked back at the elevator, doors still open and both his and Peter’s belongings scattered on the ground. “Well I guess we better grab our stuff then hey.”

Peter nodded. “Yep. I’ll show you to your room. Tony already told me which one it is.”

Peter had already brought most of his stuff to the tower during the week, so on Saturday all he needed to bring with him was a box full of Lego and a couple of shirts he had forgotten to pack. After showing Percy to his room, Peter deposited his box of Lego into his own before making his way to the lab he shared with Tony. 

The lab was unlocked when he got there, meaning that Tony was already there. The rock music that assaulted his ears was further proof of Tony’s presence. 

Peter walked over to one of the monitor screens that displayed the audio settings and turned the volume almost all the way down. 

“Hey!” Tony shouts, turning and facing the boy. “I don't walk in here when you’re playing your music and turn it off.”

Peter rolls his eyes. “You literally did that yesterday. And besides, I didn’t turn it off. I turned it down. I’m doing you a favour.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Tony sassed.

“I'm saving you from going deaf.” It was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes but he did not argue further. 

“How’s Percy?” The man questioned instead. “Friday told me he had a mild panic attack in the elevator.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah he’s good. He’s in his room unpacking now. Thought I’d give him space.” Tony nodded. “What’s his story, anyway?” Peter asked his mentor who had already turned back to whatever he was working on. “He seems like he’s been through some stuff and -- if I had to guess -- I’d say it had something to do with gods and this Vulcan fellow…”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t really know… only what Sally told me, and that was the bare minimum… but I know he’s been through hell.”

Peter nodded. “That’s a mood.” he said, sitting down at his workstation, already looking over his newest version of the web shooters.

Tony looked at the younger man with concern. “I mean yes, but I think it was also, somewhat, literal…”

Peter felt his cheeks flush. “Oh… well that’s not great…”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “I don’t think he knows you’re Spider-Man either… actually I doubt he knows Spider-Man exists.”

Peter nodded. “I should tell him.”  _ Maybe it could bring us closer together, _ he thought.  _ Or tear us apart. _

“Up to you kid.” Tony said. “But yeah, I think the sooner you tell him the better.” He said, nodding along to whatever AC/DC song was playing for a few beats. “Hey, do you reckon you can give me a hand?” he asked and Peter smiled.   
“I’d be happy to. Besides, May is always telling me to help out the elderly.”

“Oh! You are gonna be in so much shit for that!” His mentor cried, but there was little venom in it. 

Percy did not feel like unpacking when he got to his room. He put the backpack and a box he had carried in down beside the bed before sprawling out on it. The rest of his stuff had been brought over during the week and was now sitting in a pile in the middle of the room. But unpacking it meant that next week -- when Annabeth moved in -- it would all have to be moved around again.  _ “I’m saving time,”  _ he told himself and then glanced at the door. He wanted to go explore the tower, to explore his new home, but he had no idea where anything was in this place.

But his curiosity was unwavering. “If I get lost, then I get lost,” he said to himself.

“Well,” a feminine voice came. “I am here to ensure that you do not get lost,” the voice had what Percy assumed to be a thick Irish accent, but he could have been wrong. “And in the event in which you do get lost,” Percy turned and looked behind him. “I am here to ensure you can find your way back to your room.”

Percy nodded. “Um yeah, that’s cool. You know what’s also cool though?” he questioned, still looking from the source of the noise. 

“What would be ‘also cool’ Mr Jackson?” the voice rang out again.

“Knowing who you are and where you are?” 

The voice laughed. “I am F.R.I.D.A.Y. also known as a  Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth. I am a natural-language user interface created by Tony Stark, designed to work with his Iron Man armor.” 

Percy nodded. “Yeah I understood like… none of that.”

“Me smart computer,” the voice sassed. “Me control tin suit.”

Percy did not know where to look. “If you’re a computer, how can you be able to shit-talk me?”

“I am an artificial intelligence system.” F.R.I.D.A.Y. tells him. “I’m essentially the world’s smartest computer.”

He nodded. “Cool.” 

“Indeed,” she responded. “Now, where would you like to go to?”

Percy thought about it. “Yeah… is there anywhere I could blow off some steam? Like a gym or something.”

“Yes,” the A.I. responded. “I can show you the way to the training room if you would like.”

Percy nodded again -- now he was the bobble head. “Yeah that’d be good thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading. sorry for the late update, i was away for the weekend (horse riding!!!) and then i had an exam this morning, and then my laptop decided to shit itself so i had to get that sorted. and yeah. here i am.
> 
> i dont know when ill get the next update out, im pretty busy for the next week (i have 4 more exams and work for the next 3 nights) but hopefully ill be able to do some writing on Friday.
> 
> thank you for reading and please feel free to leave comments and kudos. i love being able to read the comments you read, it really helps make my day so much better (especially during exam week when all i feel like is a failure). thank you so much xxx


	6. Giant PTSD Club, see also: That’s Not Good English

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo loyal readers.  
I'm so sorry for flaking on yall. Even during quarantine, I've been super busy...  
I've been working on this chapter for AGES and I'm still not 100% happy with it and it is rather small... however, I'm never going to get over the hell-hole that is writer's block.  
and also, I recently hit 420 subscriptions over all 6 of my works (which has since been surpassed) so this is a little thank you gift.
> 
> enjoy reading!

It is around 12 o’clock when Tony finally puts down his screwdriver and the piece he was working on, placing them with care on the workbench and politely asking F.R.I.D.A.Y. to turn the music off. 

Peter looks up at his mentor and slowly begins to put down the web shooter he had been playing around with. “Lunch?” he questions, not having realised the time.

The older man nods. “Yeah, how does pizza sound?” but Peter’s eager nod is all the answer Tony needs, sending out a command for F.R.I.D.A.Y. to order their usual pizzas plus an extra for Percy (“Pepperoni? He seems like a pepperoni guy…”) while Peter packed away the tools he had out. 

“Mr Jackson is currently in the shared training room,” the A.I. supplied when asked, before adding, “I suspect if you want to save any more dummies you move quickly.” However, the two paid no mind to F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s warning, taking their sweet time ambling to the elevator that would lead them directly to the training room, or more accurately, the training floor, as one whole floor had been converted into a fully functioning S.H.I.E.L.D.-grade training facility. And yet, nothing could have prepared Tony and Peter for what they found when the elevator doors finally opened. 

Of all the super soldiers, genetically enhanced beings, and crazy-assassin-super-spies that had ever had the luck to grace the Avengers training room, none of them had ever obliterated the sheer amount of dummies that Percy Jackson had. Tony and Peter locked eyes in shock. There was dummy-innards everywhere, including in Percy’s hair. 

The swordsman in question was utterly oblivious to the entrance of his new housemates, instead, he continued to destroy yet another three dummies in the space of 30 seconds all the while dancing to Night Falls from Descendents 3, a song Tony only recognised because of how many times Peter had played his Disney playlist on repeat in their shared workspace.

When Percy finally realised that he had an audience, he waved at them, politely asking F.R.I.D.A.Y. to turn the music down but not off. “Sorry, Fri said I could listen to some jams while I practised…” he said sheepishly.

Tony felt like he had whiplash. “Jams?” he exclaimed incredulously. “Disney songs? Jams?” 

Both Percy and Peter turned and looked at the greying man nodding slowly. “Yeah Mr Stark, Disney puts out all the best bops,” Peter told him as he had many times previously, Percy nodding in agreeance as he leant forward on his bizarre sword.

Tony just shook his head. “Anyway, we ordered pizza for lunch if you want.”

Percy smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll just clean up these dummies quickly.”

Tony glanced around. There's no way all that dummy-filling was going to be quick or easy to clean up. “Don’t stress too much,” he told the boy as the playlist in the background started playing the next song, Belle from the Beauty and the Beast remake. “The clean-up bots will handle it fine,” to which the younger boy nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. “Maybe go take a shower though.” 

Percy nodded once more. “Thanks, I’ll be really quick,” he told his newfound uncle while pulling something from his pocket and tapping it to his sword, which shrunk and he shoved it back in his pocket, before dashing to the doors that lead to the stairwell.

Tony exhaled and turned to Peter and delivered the next line of the song as though it was a part of their conversation, “ look there he goes, that boy is strange, no question.”

Peter didn’t miss a beat, looking in his mentor’s eyes and singing, “dazed and distracted, can't you tell?”

Tony laughed at their idiocy and turned to walk back into the elevator, but not before snapping a picture of the state of the training room and sending it to the Avengers Gang Chat™ (name courtesy of peter) with the caption, “this new kid really hates dummies???” having totally forgotten that no one in the group knew of Percy’s presence in the tower with the exception of Peter and Rhodey. 

As the elevator doors closed, blocking the two heroes’ view of the bloodbath of dummies, Peter turned and spoke to Tony. “Hey, what’s up with that?” Tony cocked his head to the side in question. “I mean, earlier he basically told me he had PTSD… but like… what’s with the sword? Did you know he had one of those?” 

Tony looked at the boy as the elevator began to ascend. “He has PTSD? Is this tower just like a giant-PTSD club?” Peter just stared at the elder until he sighed. “I honestly don’t know,” Tony eventually answered, dejectedly. “All Sally told me was that he’s been through some shit.”

“She didn’t give you any idea at all?”

Tony contemplated this for a moment before opening his mouth. “I think it has something to do with his dad…”

“His dad?”

Tony nodded. “I think he’s got something to do with all this godly shit.”

Peter nodded while looking at nothing in particular. “I can’t believe that gods exist… like we knew Thor, but like…”

Tony scoffed in answer. “Try being an atheist when one is apparently your dad? Or not dad? One of your dads? I dunno, this is confusing… I have three parents -- three  _ biological  _ parents… it's super weird…”

Peter nodded again and silence fell over the elevator once more, however the quiet was short-lived, with Peter waiting all of 10 seconds to ask, “Hey, you reckon that sword was nanotech?”

Thinking about it, Tony was not sure what it was. But whatever it was, it was most definitely not just a regular sword. Tony told the young hero as such and he nodded again -- the kid was going to lose his head one of these days. 

“So like… some kind of godly sword?”

Tony shrugged as the elevator came to a stop on the desired floor. “I mean, it wouldn’t be the strangest thing that’s happened recently.” 

“True,” Peter said. “Very true. But it doesn’t make it any less weird,” he continued as they exited the elevator and made their way to the large cream leather couch in the middle of the room. 

It didn’t take long for Percy to freshen up after his training session, and by the time he had arrived in the lounge room to meet Peter and Tony in the lounge room the pizza had arrived as well. 

“Good timing,” Tony gestured to the pizza boxes on the coffee table as Percy walked in. 

Percy walked over to the couch and sat down at an awkward distance away from the other two men. Because that's what the situation was -- awkward. In all honesty, Percy. He wanted to be home, with his mum and step-father and little sister, helping his fiance to move into the small but cozy apartment. Not in this gargantuan tower, living with strangers, people he hardly knows, his long-lost family. 

“Hope you don’t mind pepperoni,” Peter said, pushing a box closer to Percy.

Percy shook his head politely. “No, that's good, thank you,” he said with practised courtesy.

“Well, dig in,” Tony said, taking a piece from a box closest to him and beginning to eat it. Percy smirked and did the same.

For the next few minutes, they ate in mostly silence, and it wasn’t until Percy was halfway through his third slice of pizza that anyone spoke. “So if you're living here,” Peter began. “There’s probably something you should know…”

The younger boy looked at his mentor for some sign of encouragement before pushing on. “Well, see the thing is… I'm different?” he said, though it was posed as more of a question. 

Percy laughed, “aren't we all?”

Peter blinked a few times at the other boy. “Well yes… in our own ways… but I'm… physically different…”

Percy was silent for a few seconds, processing Peter’s words. “Oh,” he said. “That's cool. I know a few people that are in the same position. It doesn’t make me think any less of you. It’s wonderful that you get to be whoever you want and that you're not afraid of that.”

Tony tried to hide his giggles but failed miserably. 

“Oh no,” Peter said. “I mean yes, but also no.” 

Percy’s head tilted slightly, a sign that his new-found uncle was slowly beginning to understand was a sign of confusion. “Oh? Then…”

“I first got to know Mr Stark through our shared job.”

Percy nodded. “Science?” he guessed.

The other two boys shook their heads. “No,” Peter said. “Superheroes… superheroing… that’s not good English. Look, basically, I’m Spiderman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! So yeah. I'm going to try to put out a new chapter asap, but online school is a bitch (especially when I spend most of my time baking instead of doing my work (sorry not sorry)).  
I've also been working on several pieces for Miraculous Ladybug, so maybe keep an eye out for those if you want. but like,,, also don't get your hopes up that they're gonna be published anytime soon...
> 
> Thank you for reading this shit storm. Hope that you're all staying safe during quarantine ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah this has been on the go for like,,,, ages??? i have the next two chapters mostly written and i just need to tweak them so yeah....
> 
> so i hope that wawsnt too bad and youll want to stick around for a bit...
> 
> this will have multiple parts and i will try and update at least once a month (the sad thing is that thats not a joke...)
> 
> anyways, thanks for reading. 
> 
> please feel free to leave kudos and comments :)


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